With a roller head (10) of a resistance seam welding machine, which roller head has a stator (12) and a rotor (14), the bearing outer housing (18, 18′) is cooled by means of channels (2, 2′) provided in its interior. This increases the life of the roller head.
|
1. A roller head for a resistance seam welding machine having a stator with an electrode roller which is rotatably mounted on the stator as a rotor, for which purpose bearing inner housings connected to the rotor and bearing outer housings connected to the stator are provided, having a sliding contact current transmission device which is arranged between stator and rotor, and having channels for feeding a coolant through the stator and rotor to the bearing inner housings, characterized in that further coolant channels which are in fluid connection with channels in the stator are provided in the interior of the bearing outer housings, and radiate outwards from the centre of each bearing outer housing.
2. The roller head as claimed in
3. The roller head as claimed in
4. The roller head as claimed in
5. The roller head as claimed in claims
6. A resistance seam welding machine having a top roller head arranged on a top arm and a bottom roller head arranged on a bottom arm of the machine, between which rover heads the weld metal passes, characterized in that the top and the bottom roller head is a roller head as claimed in
7. A method for resistance seam welding the longitudinal seam of can bodies by means of two roller heads as claimed in
|
This application is entitled to the benefit of and incorporates by references subject matter disclosed in International Patent Application No. PCT/CH2013/000090, filed on May 28, 2013 and Swiss Patent Application No. 769/12 filed on Jun. 4, 2012.
The invention relates to a roller head for a resistance seam welding machine. Further, the invention relates to a resistance seam welding machine and a method for resistance seam welding with roller heads of this kind.
A roller head of the kind mentioned in the introduction is disclosed in DE-A-40 20 182 C1. Such roller heads have proved their worth. The service life of the roller heads in operation is substantially determined by the roller bearings between rotor and stator. These bearings are cooled from the inside of the roller head by the coolant circulating within the roller head which dissipates heat from the bearing via the bearing inner housing. The lubricant present in the bearing ages due to the operating temperatures when welding. With increasing welding speed and the necessary higher welding frequency, the requirements increase, which necessitates improved lubricants. A resistance welding machine is known from DE-A-42 10 974 which is provided with electrode rollers arranged side by side and in which the roller bearings are directly contacted by the coolant while the electrical sliding contacts are not directly cooled by the coolant. This construction and arrangement of the electrode rollers is not suitable for the welding of container bodies which necessitates that one of the roller heads is working inside of the body and the other roller head outside of the body.
The invention is based on the object of creating an improved roller head. In particular, this must have an increased service life.
With the roller head of the kind mentioned in the introduction, this is achieved in that further coolant channels which are in fluid connection with channels in the stator are provided in the interior of the bearing outer housing.
The double-sided cooling of the bearings which is thereby achieved enables a reduced bearing temperature to be achieved. External cooling has previously not been considered by the person skilled in the art for roller heads of this kind which are used for welding can bodies. It appears, however, that this measure offers considerable advantages and is superior to forcing the pure internal cooling and/or the use of high-quality lubricants.
It is preferred that the arrangement of the coolant channels in the interior of the bearing outer housing comprises a plurality of coolant channels which radiate outwards from the centre of the bearing outer housing. Preferably, these radial channels lead to a ring-shaped coolant channel in the interior of the bearing outer housing which is located remotely from the centre of the bearing outer housing in the region of the outer edge of the bearing outer housing. This results in good cooling while the bearing outer housing is easy to manufacture. In particular, four or more outwards radiating coolant channels are provided.
Further, the invention relates to a resistance seam welding machine having a top roller head arranged on a top arm of the machine and a bottom roller head arranged on a bottom arm of the machine, between which roller heads the resistance seam welding machine forms the path for the passage of the weld metal. Such resistance seam welding machines are known and used particularly for welding can bodies. In doing so, high welding speeds are encountered.
The advantages mentioned above are achieved in that the top and the bottom roller head is a roller head with coolant channels in the interior of the bearing outer housings.
Further, the invention relates to a method for resistance seam welding the longitudinal seam of can bodies by means of two roller heads, between which the can bodies are conveyed.
The advantages explained are achieved in that the bearing outer housings of the roller heads are cooled by means of a cooling liquid which circulates in the interior of the bearing outer housings.
An apparatus and the procedure according to the prior art and exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below based on the drawings. In the drawings
The design of a roller head according to the prior art, in particular in accordance with DE 40 20 182 C1 is explained with reference to
The stator 12 is securely clamped with good electrical conductivity to the free end of a welding arm (not shown) of a resistance seam welding machine, wherein a bottom arm with a roller head and a top arm with a roller head, between which roller heads the welding takes place, as a rule using a wire intermediate electrode which is known to the person skilled in the art and is not explained further here, are provided for welding can bodies. The welding current is to be transmitted from the stator 12 to the rotor 14, which transmits it, preferably via the said wire electrode, to the welding point. A sliding contact current transmission device, which is designated overall by 24, as is disclosed in particular in DE 40 20 182 C1 to which reference is made here, is provided for transmitting current between stator and rotor.
Furthermore, according to the prior art, the internal space between the stator 12 and the rotor 14 is sealed fluid-tight by means of O-rings and shaft seals in the manner shown in
According to the present invention, the bearing outer housings 18 and 18′ are also cooled by the coolant which enters the roller head through the channel 52 in the stator and leaves it again through the channel 52′ in the stator. For this purpose, coolant channels are arranged in the interior of the bearing outer housings 18 and 18′, which will now be explained in more detail with reference to
The bearing outer housings 18, 18′ with the channels arranged therein can be produced in various ways. A preferred method of production is a layer-by-layer construction from a metallic powder material by means of laser sintering, which is known under the technical term “generative metal forming (GMF)”. Layers (of e.g. 20 micrometers thickness) are built up successively in a relief-like manner by means of the laser, as a result of which the channel structure shown or a different channel structure can be provided in the bearing outer housing as it is built up. It is also possible to construct the bearing outer housing from a plurality of separately cut layers of a metal material which are bonded together when placed on top of one another. The at least one middle layer with its cutouts then forms the channels. Such a layer can be cut with a laser cutting tool or by means of spark erosion for example. The layers can be joined over their surface area and at the edges by welding (e.g. friction welding and electron beam welding).
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
10239149, | Feb 04 2014 | SARES S P A | Device of electric sliding contact, welding head for roller welding machines and related roller welding machine |
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
2407676, | |||
2643318, | |||
3501611, | |||
3546655, | |||
4188523, | Jun 15 1977 | Nippon Electric Co., Ltd.; Fuji Industry Co., Ltd. | Roll electrode for use in a seam welding machine |
4433229, | Nov 29 1980 | Daiwa Can Company, Limited | Electrode roll for resistance welding |
5155405, | Mar 08 1991 | Elpatronic AG | Electrode roller with flexible current transmitting disc |
5159168, | May 29 1990 | Elpatronic AG | Sliding contact roller head |
5420389, | Sep 24 1993 | Bearing mounts for electric-resistance can welders | |
6812427, | Jun 20 2001 | CEVOLANI S P A | Rolling head for an electric resistance welder |
20020195430, | |||
DE4020182, | |||
DE4210974, |
Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jun 28 2013 | Soundronic AG | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Nov 17 2014 | DIETERICH, DANIEL | Soudronic AG | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 034768 | /0417 |
Date | Maintenance Fee Events |
Nov 10 2021 | M1551: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 4th Year, Large Entity. |
Date | Maintenance Schedule |
May 15 2021 | 4 years fee payment window open |
Nov 15 2021 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
May 15 2022 | patent expiry (for year 4) |
May 15 2024 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4) |
May 15 2025 | 8 years fee payment window open |
Nov 15 2025 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
May 15 2026 | patent expiry (for year 8) |
May 15 2028 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8) |
May 15 2029 | 12 years fee payment window open |
Nov 15 2029 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
May 15 2030 | patent expiry (for year 12) |
May 15 2032 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12) |